History Blog

August 25

Happy Birthday RIP Melchoir Ferrer(1917–2008) Louis “Leonard” Bernstein(1918–1990) ; Maurice Halperin(“Monty Hall”)–96 Thomas Sean Connery–87 Regis Philbin–86 Thomas Skerritt–84 Nancy Stoll(“Mink Stole”)–70 Chaim Weitz(“Gene Simmons”)–68 Declan MacManus(“Elvis Costello”)–63 Timothy Burton–59 William Ray Cyrus–56 Blair Underwood–53 Rachael Ray–49 Claudia Schiffer–47 Alexander Skarsgård–41 ; 1916 – The National Park Service was established within the Department of the Interior.

August 24

Happy Birthday RIP Margaret “Dorothy” Comingore(1913–1971) Millicent “Penny” Edwards(1928–1998) ; Ronee Blakley–72 Anne Archer–70 Stephen Fry–60 Steven Guttenberg–59 Craig Kilborn–55 Marlee Matlin–52 David Chappelle–44 Simon “James” D’Arcy–42 Chad Michael Murray–36 Rupert Grint–29 ; 1891 – Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera ; 1949 – The treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) goes into effect

August 23

Happy Birthday RIP Eugene Kelly(1912–1996) Edgar “Ted” Codd(1923–2003) River Phoenix(Bottom 1970–1993) ; Vera “Miles” Ralston–88 Barbara “Eden” Moorhead–86 Richard Sanders–77 Richard “Rick” Springthorpe(“Springfield”)–68 Shelley Long–68 Jon “Jay” Mohr–47 Scott Caan–41 Kobe Bryant–39 ; 1904 – The automobile tire chain is patented ; 1973 – A back robbery gone wrong in Stockholm Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term “Stockholm Syndrome”

August 22

Happy Birthday RIP Helene “Leni” Riefenstahl(1902–2003) Ray Bradbury(1920–2012) ; Valerie Harper–78 Cynthia Williams–70 Myra “Tori” Amos–54 Tyler Burrell–50 Richard Armitage–46 Kristen Wiig–44 ; 1902 – Cadillac Motor Company is founded ; 1902 – President Theodore Roosevelt became the first United States chief executive to ride in an automobile in public

August 21

Happy Birthday Kenneth Rogers–79 Patricia McCormack(Russo)–72
Loretta Devine–68 Kim Cattrall–61 Carrie-Anne Moss–50 Alicia Witt–42 Hayden Panettiere–28 ; 1897 – Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobile was founded ; 1959 – President Eisenhower signed an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union

August 20

Happy Birthday RIP Theodore Bergman(“Alan Reed” 1907–1977) Isaac Hayes(1942–2008) ; Donald King–86 Constance “Connie” Chung Povich(宗毓華)–71 Robert Plant–69 Albert “Al” Roker Jr–63 Joan Allen–61 James Marsters–55 Amy Adams–43 Benjamin Barnes–36 ; 1920 – First commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan

August 19

Happy Birthday RIP Eugene Roddenberry(1921–1991) ; Diana Muldaur–79 Jill St. John(Oppenheim)–77 William Jefferson Blythe III(Bill Clinton)–71 Mary “Tipper” Gore–69 Jonathan Frakes–65 Peter Gallagher–62 John Stamos–54 Kyra Sedgwick–52 Kevin Dillon–52 Matthew Perry–48 ; 1909 – The first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ; 1929 – The comedy “Amos ‘n’ Andy” made its network radio debut on NBC ; 2004 – Internet search engine Google went public

August 18

Happy Birthday RIP Marshall Field(1834–1906) Max Factor, Jr.(1904–1996) “Shelley Winters”(Shirley Schrift 1920–2006) Patrick Swayze(1952–2009) ; Eleanor Rosalynn Carter–90 “Roman Polanski”(Rajmund Liebling)–84 Charles Robert Redford Jr.–81 Martin Mull–74 Elayne Boosler–65 Denis Leary–60 Christian Slater–48 Edward Norton–48 Malcolm-Jamal Warner–47 Andrew “Andy” Samberg–39 ; 1868 – French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium ; 1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women’s suffrage

August 17

Happy Birthday RIP “Samuel Goldwyn”(Schmuel Gelbfisz 1879–1974) Mary “Mae” West(1893–1980) ; Robert De Niro Jr.–74 Kevin Rowland–64 Belinda Carlisle-Mason–59 Sean Penn–57 Donald Wahlberg–48 Mark Salling–35 ; 1982 – The first Compact Discs (CDs) are released to the public in Germany

August 16

Happy Birthday RIP Fess Parker Jr.(1924–2010)  Robert Culp(1930–2010) Edith Gormezano(“Eydie Gormé” 1928–2013) Frank Gifford(1930–2015) ; Julia Newmeyer(“Julie Newmar”)–84 Lesley Ann Warren–71 Kathie Lee Gifford(Epstein)–64 James Cameron–63 Madonna Louise Ciccone–59 Angela Bassett–59 Timothy Hutton–57 Steven Carell–55 Cameron Gigandet–35 Cameron Monaghan–24 ; 1954 – Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc. ; 1977 – Elvis Presley died at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42. The bathroom where the body was found is closed to the public